The Effect of Halopriming with KNO3 and CaCl2 Solutions on Seed Germination and Vigor of Chinese Mustard
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/jare-mju.2025.44Keywords:
seed enhancement, seed dormancy, low germination, speed of germination, seed vigorAbstract
Imported Chinese mustard seeds may exhibit secondary seed dormancy due to unsuitable environmental conditions during transportation or storage, such as high temperatures, leading to high seed dormancy (64.00%) and low germination (32.50%). Therefore, this research investigated seed enhancement through seed priming using KNO3 and CaCl2 solutions. A completely randomized design was used, comprising six treatments: non-primed seeds (control), seed priming with reverse osmosis water (hydropriming), and priming with 0.5 and 1.0% KNO3 or CaCl2 solution. Seeds were soaked for 6 hours at 20±2°C, after which the moisture content of the seeds was reduced to approximately 7%, which approximated the initial moisture content. The results showed that seed priming of Chinese mustard with 1.0% KNO3 solution resulted in the highest percentages of radicle emergence and germination of 95.50 and 93.50%, respectively, when compared with non-primed seeds (32.50 and 31.00%, respectively). Moreover, the primed seeds with 1.0% KNO3 solution were highly vigorous, which had the time to reach 50% radicle emergence (0.60 days), days to emergence (1.21 days), time to reach 50% germination (2.78 days) and mean germination time (3.62 days). These times were faster than those of non-primed seeds (1.84, 2.76, 4.08 and 4.76 days, respectively). In conclusion, priming Chinese mustard seeds with 1.0% KNO3 solution for 6 hours at 20±2°C is the best method as it resulted in the highest radicle emergence, germination and speed of germination.
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